As is the case on any week which sees one of their releases, the best new film this week is the latest from the legendary Studio Ghibli: The Secret World of Arrietty. Based on Mary Norton’s classic The Borrowers, the story follows the adventures of Arrietty who lives in peace with her people under the floorboard of a house, and her dangerous friendship with a human boy. This film was a massive hit in Japan, and also found a surprisingly large audience at the US box office. Definitely worth a look.
14-year-old Arrietty and the rest of the Clock family live in peaceful anonymity as they make their own home from items “borrowed” from the house’s human inhabitants. However, life changes for the Clocks when a human boy discovers Arrietty.
The Secret World of Arrietty @ Amazon
Young lawyer Arthur Kipps travels to a remote village to organize a recently deceased client’s papers, where he encounters the ghost of a scorned woman set on vengeance.
The Woman in Black @ Amazon
Two top CIA operatives wage an epic battle against one another after they discover they are dating the same woman.
This Means War @ Amazon
A crew of African American pilots in the Tuskegee training program, having faced segregation while kept mostly on the ground during World War II, are called into duty under the guidance of Col. A.J. Bullard.
Red Tails @ Amazon
United is based on the true story of Manchester United’s legendary "Busby Babes", the youngest side ever to win the Football League and the 1958 Munich Air Crash that claimed eight of the their number. The film draws on first-hand interviews with the survivors and their families to tell the inspirational story of a team and community overcoming terrible tragedy.
United @ Amazon
A few good selections new on DVD this week are led by the surprisingly good Chronicle, about three high-school friends who suddenly get super powers. Chronicle somehow manages to make its classic story of power and responsibility, good and evil, seem fresh. Almost as good is Liam Neeson vs. Wolves in The Grey and Rampart, featuring Woody Harrelson as a dirty cop.
Three high school friends gain superpowers after making an incredible discovery. Soon, though, they find their lives spinning out of control and their bond tested as they embrace their darker sides.
Chronicle @ Amazon
In Alaska, an oil drilling team struggle to survive after a plane crash strands them in the wild. Hunting the humans are a pack of wolves who see them as intruders.
The Grey @ Amazon
Woody Harrelson gives a ferocious performance as a dirty cop, balancing a home life with two ex-wives as he becomes embroiled in the Los Angeles Police Department’s infamous Rampart corruption scandal. (tiff.net)
Rampart @ Amazon
In Italy, a woman becomes involved in a series of unauthorized exorcisms during her mission to discover what happened to her mother, who allegedly murdered three people during her own exorcism.
The Devil Inside @ Amazon
Unemployed and newly-divorced Stephanie Plum lands a job at her cousin’s bail-bond business, where her first assignment puts her on the trail of a wanted local cop from her romantic past.
One for the Money @ Amazon
An awful slate of new releases on DVD this week is led by the latest chapter in the Underworld saga, which continues to pump out films, despite the fact that nobody seems to like any of them much. When a franchise reaches four films, wasn’t at least the first one supposed to be good? A bigger disappointment, though, might be the Tim and Eric film. The comedy duo was responsible for one of the most bizarrely hilarious sketch shows in years, but the humor didn’t seem to translate to the big screen.
When human forces discover the existence of the Vampire and Lycan clans, a war to eradicate both species commences. The vampire warrioress Selene leads the battle against humankind.
Underworld: Awakening @ Amazon
A car accident puts Paige (McAdams) in a coma, and when she wakes up with severe memory loss, her husband Leo (Tatum) works to win her heart again.
The Vow @ Amazon
Two guys get a billion dollars to make a movie, only to watch their dream run off course.
Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie @ Amazon
The sadistic members of a villainous family return to their childhood home to terrorize the new home owners and their guests.
Mother’s Day @ Amazon
When a group of high school students dig into their town’s infamous past they unwittingly unlock an Evil that corrupts and destroys them. Possessing its victims through video playback and using them for malevolent purposes, it closes in on one specific soul, threatening to expose the town’s deepest, darkest secret. (imdb)
Playback @ Amazon
Madonna, Dolly Parton and Queen Latifah all feature in this week’s slate of new releases, though if the reviews of the Criticker community are any indication, all three divas should stick to music. And maybe Sarah Jessica Parker, Ashton Kutcher and the rest of the ensemble responsible for execrable New Year’s Eve should join them. They couldn’t possibly be any worse at singing than filmmaking. The only new DVD which gets any love at all is the latest from Steven Soderbergh. Even so, considering the director and a cast which includes Michael Douglas, Bill Paxton, Antonio Banderas, Ewan McGregor, and Michael Fassbender, Haywire’s average tier of 5.12 has to be considered a disappointment.
A black ops super soldier seeks payback after she is betrayed and set up during a mission.
Haywire @ Amazon
The lives of several couples and singles in New York intertwine over the course of New Year’s Eve.
New Year’s Eve @ Amazon
A two-tiered romantic drama focusing on the affair between King Edward VIII and American divorcee Wallis Simpson and a contemporary romance between a married woman and a Russian security guard.
W.E. @ Amazon
Two choir members have differing opinions on how to win the national choir competition.
Joyful Noise @ Amazon
There are a number of decent films new to DVD this week, but that does not include Mark Wahlberg’s thriller Contraband. The best film of the week is probably Pariah, about a Brooklyn teenager struggling to come to terms with her family, community and sexuality. Or if you’re looking for a film which is basically the opposite of that, check out Let the Bullets Fly: a speed-wheeling comic action flick about gangsters in 1920′s China.
A security guard with financial troubles considers a return to his smuggling ways when an associate offers a potentially lucrative opportunity.
Contraband @ Amazon
A horror-thriller centered on the last two employees at a haunted hotel that’s going out of business.
Innkeepers, The @ Amazon
A horror-thriller set on 11:11 on the 11th day of the 11th month and concerning a entity from another world that enters the earthly realm through Heaven’s 11th gate.
11-11-11 @ Amazon
Set in China during the warring 1920s, notorious bandit chief Zhang descends upon a remote provincial town posing as its new mayor, an identity that he had hijacked from Old Tang, himself a small-time imposter. Hell-bent on making a fast buck, Zhang soon meets his match in the tyrannical local gentry Huang as a deadly battle of wit and brutality ensues.
Let the Bullets Fly @ Amazon
A Brooklyn teenager juggles conflicting identities and risks family and friendships in a search for sexual expression. (tiff.net)
Pariah @ Amazon
The latest Mission Impossible lived up to the improbably high standards of the series and is definitely worth seeking out on DVD for those who haven’t seen it. But the pick of the week is Shame, a universally lauded drama about a sex-addict and the unexpected arrival of his younger sister. This is the second partnership between director Steve McQueen and Michael Fassbender. Their first project together, Hunger, won McQueen the Caméra d’Or at Cannes… and Shame earned him an NC-17 from America’s squeamish ratings board. (The violence and deaths in Mission Impossible? Yeah, that’s a PG-13.)
The IMF is shut down when it’s implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin, causing Ethan Hunt and his new team to go rogue to clear their organization’s name.
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol @ Amazon
Shame –
Average Tier 7.63
A drama centered on 30-something Brandon, his myriad sexual escapades, and what happens when his wayward younger sister moves in with him.
Shame @ Amazon
Survivors of a nuclear attack are grouped together for days in the basement of their apartment building, where fear and dwindling supplies wear away at their dynamic.
The Divide @ Amazon
Narrated by Academy-Award winner Morgan Freeman, Born to be Wild 3D is an inspiring story of love, dedication and the remarkable bond between humans and animals. This film documents orphaned orangutans and elephants and the extraordinary people who rescue and raise them — saving endangered species one life at a time.
Born to Be Wild @ Amazon
It’s Meryl Streep vs. Werner Herzog in this week’s Battle of the Titans. And while The Iron Lady has more rankings at Criticker, Mr. Herzog is always a formidable opponent in terms of quality. Into the Abyss is his latest documentary and, as usual, Criticker users gave it great marks. The German filmmaker’s latest target? Capital punishment in the USA.
A look at the life of Margaret Thatcher (Meryl Streep), the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, with a focus on the price she paid for power.
The Iron Lady @ Amazon
Intimate interviews and life stories of several people involved in the life of an inmate condemned to death in a Texas prison.
Into the Abyss @ Amazon
In Russia, a group of young adults struggle to survive after an alien invasion.
The Darkest Hour @ Amazon
Agent Jesus Juarez (aka Chucho) has always played the Devil in his town’s Nativity Play. This Christmas, when the new pastor of the church recasts the role, the two men engage in a battle between good and evil.
Pastorela @ Amazon
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